All Things Piano

Typically, pianos should be tuned every six months. Waiting longer periods of time could lead to more costly repairs in the future.

Absolutely. Pianos are more than musical intruments. There are many parts that an uninformed person would not be able to check, and you could be buying someone else's problems. Pianos are also a great hiding place for unintended "guests" (mice, insects, or worse). The fee for this service is nominal, and cheap insurance.

You should seek out a professional piano mover. While many household movers can move a piano, it's always best to leave it to an experienced piano mover. Much damage has been caused by inexperience.

When figuring out where to place your new piano, there are some do's and don'ts. You should avoid: Heat and cool sources-e.g. heat and A/C registers, radiators and woodstoves. You shouldn't put that big investment in front of a picture window, as nice as it may look. After a few years of baking in the sun, it likely won't look (or sound) as good as it once did. An inside wall with no radiators/registers is usually best. Basements could be a death sentence for a piano, so unless it's bone dry, I would pass on that.

Pianos are about 80% wood. The wood in the rim and soundboard swell and shrink with the seasons and weather, and cause the strings to get slack or tight. Also, it is a natural thing for strings to stretch, even if you occasionally, or never play. Each string (not note) has over 200 lb of tension, and will stretch over time. Multiply that by about 230, and you get the total tensiion that your piano must withstand.